Good family cruise

Item: Carnival Splendor
Rating: 3
Author: jesseva

Carnival Splendor Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

jesseva

Contributor Level: Third Mate

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Reviews: 3

Helpful Votes: 110

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

8 Night Bahamas & Florida (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 09, 2014

Ship: Carnival Splendor

Cabin type: Inside

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

Our first cruise (32y.o. mom, and 2x 12y.o. boys). My kids loved it, had a great time. They spent most of their days and nights in the tween club. I enjoyed it, but was a little bored. Didn't really have anyone to talk to. I felt like I was the only single person on the cruise. Food was great. My kids both have peanut/tree nut allergies, and waiters always remembered and knew exactly what they could and couldn't have. Entertainment was good, but too much karaoke and trivia games for my liking. We had an inside room, which (having never been on a cruise before) was shockingly small, but we got used to it. I found the ship very crowded, it was always hard to find a deck chair. Sometimes I would wander around for over an hour to find 1 chair. We chose this cruise because it was out of NYC, so we could drive and not have to pay for flights, but this also meant that, being in March, it wasn't a week in the sun. Was too cold to be outside for almost half the cruise.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Food was always good. My adventurous kids loved trying new things like frog legs, and beef tartar. Pizza was always yummy. Sandwiches on the pool deck were delicious. Loved the tandoor place and the stirfry place.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

too much karaoke and trivia games for my liking

Entertainment

3 out of 5

I enjoyed a couple of the stage shows. The comics were hit and miss. I walked out one night, sorry but I don't find anything funny in jokes about child molesters.

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

My boys loved the tween club. They made lots of friends.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Service was always good. There were a few charges on my bill that I wasn't happy about, but a quick call to customer service, and the charges were reversed. One was for a towel, but i know I handed in all the towels. The other charges were from one of my kids - he ordered a few smoothies and played some games in the arcade, without my permission. I disputed these charges because his card was supposed to be set that he couldn't charge anything on the card, and that was Carnival's error.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

While the decor was overwhelming and tacky, the ship was always clean and well maintained

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Very small! Don't remember the room number, but it was far aft. Difficult to sleep a few nights because of rough seas.